VERY DUBIOUS TEXT SERVICE FROM PAYPAL TO REPLY COSTS YOU PREMIUM RATE CHARGES

asgard1920
Contributor
Contributor

Today I made an Ebay purchase £169.00 and paid by PAYPAL.  Almost immediately received a TEXT from PAYPAL asking me if it was a SUSPICIOUS

Transaction or did I approve it?

  Their text to me said Reply 1 for good 2 for bad. I tried on three occasions to reply .1, because it seems to be an ok transaction but MY TEXT
WOULD NOT SEND. As I was out and about most of the day I assumed it was a signal problem.

On returning home I rang my mobile provider 3 and asked for help. They explained the reason my TEXT would NOT SEND was because I had placed a BLOCK ON PREMIUM RATE NUMBERS AND THAT IS WHAT PAYPAL IS CHARGING FOR REPLYING to their question!!!!!

HOW COULD I TELL WITHIN 5 MINS OF AN EBAY TRANSACTION  IF IT WAS GENUINE OR NOT? NEVER MIND THE PREMIUM RATE STING?

If the question asked had been did you make this transaction or not, it would have seemed to be more sensible. But to ask if it was a suspicious payment ;this just causes doubt and unnecessary alarm to customers. If you answered that the payment was not suspicious and something subsequently went wrong would they use your reply to say "you said it was not suspicious and that you had authorised it? and wash their hands of it if the seller turned out to be not genuine??

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2 REPLIES 2

PayPal_Siobhan2
Moderator
Moderator

Hi asgard1920,

 

Thank you for contacting the PayPal Community Forum and welcome as a new member!

 

Your question is very account specific and we would be unable to tell you why this has happened over a public forum. I would suggest contacting us via Facebook - https://www facebook.com/PayPalUK/, Twitter - @AskPayPal., email or phone and we would be happy to advise.

 

- Siobhan

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asgard1920
Contributor
Contributor

Thank you Siobhan, for the welcome and reply. 

Apparently my query is not account specific as EBay explained it to me. eBay tell me that it is 

a security check service which PayPal has introduced. It is voluntary, however I was not aware that there would be a £0.90 charge for replying to the PayPal text question.

I checked my PayPal account and found that the payment had already been made even though

I hadn't relied to the text. I rang PayPal and the operative told me that it would go through 

anyway even if I didn reply.

I feel that a simple Text which asked 'have you made this transaction' ? And why would you wish to make a premium charge on top of what your clients are paying their mobile phone provider?

 

your invitation for me to share confidential account information through Facebook in a week

when our news is filled with the deeply disturbing news of the complete untrustworthiness

and lack of security of Facebook. I like many millions would never use such a platform again.

 

 

 

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